Convicted Scout leader seeks new sentencing

ELKHORN  A former Whitewater Boy Scout leader convicted of sexually assaulting young boys is asking a Walworth County judge to grant him a new sentencing hearing.

Paul C. Wozny, 49, argues in a written appeal that his trial attorney never reviewed with him the details of a 2002 presentence investigation before he was ordered to 25 years in prison on multiple charges of sexual assault. Wozny said the report, which judges use to help determine a final sentence, contained several inaccuracies that he wasn't aware of at the time.

Wozny was charged in 2001 after three 12-year-old boys told detectives they were sexually assaulted multiple times on camping trips. One boy said Wozny touched his penis more than 50 times, and the other two said Wozny asked them to strip naked and dance around a campfire.

Wozny pleaded no contest in 2002 but has since made several attempts to withdraw

his plea. The state Court of Appeals in 2009 agreed with the circuit court's decision, citing testimony during sentencing where Wozny told then Judge Michael Gibbs he understood the plea agreement and reviewed its details with his attorney.

Wozny later said that statement was false, and his attorney told him to agree with anything the court asked.

The presentence investigation conducted by the state included details of a state psych exam that gave an "unfavorable report," Wozny claims. He also disputes at least five of its findings, claiming the boys danced around the fire naked of their own accord and that full-body massages apparently given to the boys never took place.

He also said he never touched the boys for sexual gratification.

Wozny's first appeal of the decision came in 2003 when he said he didn't know the judge wasn't bound by the plea agreement. He argued his trial attorney "urged him to plead because he felt he had a hopeless case and would go to prison for a very long time," according to court documents.

Circuit court denied the motion, and the Wisconsin Court of Appeals later agreed with the court's decision. The state Supreme Court declined to review the case.

Wozny's 25-year prison sentence will be up in 2027. He then will be on extended supervision for 45 years.

Wozny's motion for a new sentencing was scheduled for argument Wednesday, but the hearing was postponed.